Hut Trip: Polar Star Inn

Polar Star Inn is one of 16 10th Mountain Division Huts, located about 14 miles southeast of Eagle and 14 miles southwest of Vail.

On Saturday, 16 of us climbed the 6 mile, 2000 foot trail to the hut, located just above 11,000 ft above sea level. Sunday was more of a down day - the skiers caught some turns above Polar Star Mine, and many snowshoers explored New York Mountain 1000 feet above the hut.

As always, the food was excellent (and plentiful), the company terrific, and the entertainment quite amusing!

View these photos and their locations in Google Earth or in Google Maps.

Jay and Roy at the trailhead

2-27-2010 9:14 am

Lisa tries to separate her skins

Photo by Shari Post

2-27-2010 9:20 am

Skis on

2-27-2010 9:20 am

Departing the trailhead

Photo by Roy Donehower

2-27-2010 9:26 am

The group heads off

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 9:31 am

Tory

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 9:31 am

Brian, Ryan, and Ling

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 9:32 am

Jay along the trail

Photo by Jay Endres

2-27-2010 10:30 am

Roy and Brian guard the trail

2-27-2010 10:44 am

Rurik, looking splendid

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-27-2010 10:50 am

Steve

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-27-2010 10:50 am

Kathy and Rurik

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-27-2010 10:51 am

Lisa

2-27-2010 11:07 am

Shaun takes a break

Photo by Jay Endres

2-27-2010 11:23 am

Brian and Lisa

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-27-2010 12:09 pm

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 12:23 pm

A fox along the side of the trail

Photo by Jay Endres

2-27-2010 12:29 pm

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 12:29 pm

Steve skins up

2-27-2010 12:29 pm

Rurik, Kathy, and Lisa

2-27-2010 12:30 pm

Polar Star Inn

2-27-2010 2:43 pm

Rurik recovers

Photo by Lisa Davis

2-27-2010 3:44 pm

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 3:50 pm

Shari catches up on some reading

2-27-2010 3:50 pm

Lonny and his camera

2-27-2010 4:08 pm

...taking a picture of Brian and his camera

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 4:08 pm

How many engineers does it take to light a pilot light?

2-27-2010 4:08 pm

Lisa

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 4:12 pm

Ryan

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-27-2010 4:40 pm

Chicken Surprise!

Photo by Jay Endres

2-27-2010 5:34 pm

Photo by Steve Packard

2-27-2010 6:21 pm

Photo by Steve Packard

2-27-2010 6:21 pm

Relaxing after dinner

2-27-2010 6:44 pm

Yahtzee!

2-27-2010 8:03 pm

2-27-2010 8:06 pm

Making breakfast

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-28-2010 8:49 am

2-28-2010 9:05 am

Tory and Steve prepare breakfast

2-28-2010 9:05 am

mmmmm....breakfast

Photo by Shari Post

2-28-2010 9:07 am

Roy, Kathleen, and Brian

2-28-2010 9:16 am

Rurik and Jay examine the 10th Mountain Division hut system

2-28-2010 9:16 am

Elvis Cribbage

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 11:10 am

Relaxing after breakfast

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 11:10 am

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 11:26 am

Brian

Photo by Lisa Davis

2-28-2010 11:45 am

Ling and Ryan

Photo by Shari Post

2-28-2010 11:46 am

Shaun on New York Mountain

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 12:35 pm

Kathleen and Forrest

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 12:46 pm

Jay and Shaun on New York Mountain

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 12:47 pm

Roy and Shaun consult a map

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 12:50 pm

Lonny

Photo by Shari Post

2-28-2010 12:53 pm

[PAUSE THE SLIDESHOW BELOW TO WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO]

Steve drops in with some tele turns

2-28-2010 12:53 pm

Steve

Photo by Lisa Davis

2-28-2010 12:54 pm

[PAUSE THE SLIDESHOW BELOW TO WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO]

Brian takes his turn down the mine tailings pile

2-28-2010 12:54 pm

Brian grabs some turns on Polar Star Mine

Photo by Lisa Davis

2-28-2010 12:54 pm

Photo by Steve Packard

2-28-2010 1:58 pm

Photo by Steve Packard

2-28-2010 2:49 pm

An old cabin

Photo by Lisa Davis

2-28-2010 1:22 pm

The view from the Polar Star Mine

Photo by Lisa Davis

2-28-2010 1:42 pm

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 1:44 pm

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-28-2010 1:58 pm

Roy and Brian catch a breath of fresh air on the porch

2-28-2010 2:17 pm

Polar Star Inn

2-28-2010 2:17 pm

Rurik and Kathy

2-28-2010 2:20 pm

Lonny sets up a great MacGyver snow tripod

Photo by Shari Post

2-28-2010 2:25 pm

...to get this photo

Ling, Ryan, Shari, and Lonny on New York Mountain

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-28-2010 2:26 pm

Shaun attempts to match the pose of the SI swimsuit poster girl...

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-28-2010 2:39 pm

New York Mountain

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-28-2010 2:42 pm

Shari, Ling, and Ryan on New York Mountain

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

2-28-2010 2:42 pm

Lisa eats lunch

2-28-2010 2:47 pm

Kathy playing angry cards

2-28-2010 2:47 pm

A little hut euchre

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-28-2010 3:37 pm

Shaun filtering out pine needles through a coffee filter (for our dinner water)

2-28-2010 4:45 pm

Tory and Steve after their Sunday outing

2-28-2010 4:46 pm

Rurik vs. Bread Loaf

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-28-2010 4:52 pm

Lonny and Shari performing some form of surgery

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-28-2010 4:52 pm

Steve and Brian

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

2-28-2010 4:53 pm

The gear drying

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 5:26 pm

Lounging around the fire

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 5:26 pm

Lonny shares his light reading

The previous hut occupants left a SI Swimsuit issue and Cosmo for us to read...it provided much entertainment

Photo by Jay Endres

2-28-2010 5:27 pm

Photo by Steve Packard

2-28-2010 6:58 pm

Scrabble after dinner

2-28-2010 8:04 pm

Tory makes dessert

2-28-2010 8:11 pm

Photo by Steve Packard

2-28-2010 9:16 pm

3-1-2010 8:42 am

Brian sets up the group photo

Photo by Jay Endres

3-1-2010 8:51 am

The Polar Star Inn group

Clockwise from left: Shaun, Jay, Lonny, Brian, Steve, Tory, Forrest, Ryan, Rurik, Kathy, Lisa, Shari, Roy, Ling, Brian, Kathleen

3-1-2010 8:52 am

A last look at the hut

Photo by Jay Endres

3-1-2010 8:58 am

Brian and Lisa

3-1-2010 9:01 am

Steve saddles up for the ski out

Photo by Shari Post

3-1-2010 9:04 am

The departure party

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

3-1-2010 9:05 am

Brian

Photo by Lisa Davis

3-1-2010 9:13 am

Lisa

3-1-2010 9:14 am

Steve drops into a meadow

3-1-2010 9:16 am

Lisa

3-1-2010 9:17 am

Lisa

3-1-2010 9:17 am

Hiking out

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

3-1-2010 9:22 am

3-1-2010 9:28 am

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

3-1-2010 9:34 am

3-1-2010 9:36 am

Steve, Brian, and Lisa skin up

Photo by Shari Post

3-1-2010 9:56 am

3-1-2010 10:10 am

Lisa

3-1-2010 10:10 am

Jay and Shaun

3-1-2010 10:11 am

Brian and Kathleen

3-1-2010 10:21 am

Ryan and Ling

3-1-2010 10:27 am

Tory and Forrest

3-1-2010 10:28 am

Brian skis by...

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

3-1-2010 10:39 am

Lisa skis by...

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

3-1-2010 10:39 am

...and Steve skis by

Photo by Lonny Jacobson

3-1-2010 10:40 am

Descending down to Yeoman Park trailhead

3-1-2010 10:46 am

Lisa and Brian

3-1-2010 10:54 am

Lonny

Photo by Lisa Davis

3-1-2010 11:21 am

Shari reaches the trailhead

3-1-2010 11:27 am

Shaun and Jay

3-1-2010 11:30 am

A full car...

3-1-2010 11:31 am

Tory and Forrest

3-1-2010 11:32 am

Kathy and Rurik

Photo by Kathy Lubinski

3-1-2010 11:46 am

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